How Arctic shipping could boost Canada’s trade relationship with Asia

An iceberg floating in Canada’s High Arctic. As climate change makes northern shipping routes more accessible, what impact will it have on Canada’s trade relationships with Asia? (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

While the Northwest Passage is a long way away from becoming a commercially viable maritime shipping route, even a moderate increase in shipping through Canada’s Arctic waters has the potential to change Ottawa’s relationship with its Asian trading partners, especially China, argues a newly released paper.

Soft power

Canada should use its geographic position and its membership in the Arctic Council to deepen its trade relationship with its Asian trading partners, particularly China, which seeks to cement its role as a global player, argues Stephens, a former high-ranking Canadian diplomat specializing in Asia.

“This is a natural area where Canada and China, and indeed Japan and Korea can develop some unique bilateral cooperation,” Stephens says. “Canada is a key player in the Arctic and it’s a perfect opportunity for Canada to take a lead in developing its Asian dimension through the lenses of its Arctic presence.”

Advantages

There are still advantages that might draw some shipping away from traditional routes to the maritime corridor snaking through Canada’s Arctic archipelago, particularly for the movement of western resources to growing Asian markets, he says.

“That won’t be necessarily year around but I think there will a considerable growth of shipping there,” Stephens says. “That offers some economic opportunities for Canada but also offers us some challenges in terms of making it a viable and safe route.”

Levon Sevunts

Born and raised in Armenia, Levon started his journalistic career in 1990, covering wars and civil strife in the Caucasus and Central Asia. In 1992, after the government in Armenia shut down the TV program he was working for, Levon immigrated to Canada. He learned English and eventually went back to journalism, working first in print and then in broadcasting.
Levon’s journalistic assignments have taken him from the High Arctic to Sahara and the killing fields of Darfur, from the streets of Montreal to the snow-capped mountaintops of Hindu Kush in Afghanistan.
He says, “But best of all, I’ve been privileged to tell the stories of hundreds of people who’ve generously opened up their homes, refugee tents and their hearts to me.”
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